Decision Time Arrives for Controversy-Shy U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has managed to steer away from controversy in the three months since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. That’s about to get harder.
The court is opening the last phase of its nine-month term, a six-week stretch that will feature rulings on affirmative action, immigration, abortion, contraceptive coverage, and Puerto Rico’s debt. A batch of opinions is likely on Monday.
Each dispute has the potential to divide the eight justices, highlighting what’s at stake from the Senate’s refusal to consider Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Scalia. The cases could also thrust the court more deeply into the 2016 election fray and the presidential race between Donald Trump and, most likely, Hillary Clinton.
At the same time, the cases offer ways for the justices to rule narrowly and defer consideration of more sweeping issues. Those potential paths of consensus may hold appeal on a court that prides itself on being above politics, even at a time of political tumult.
“I see the justices as almost trying to hide,” said Michael Dorf, a constitutional law professor at Cornell Law School. “There’s a vacancy. There’s this extraordinary inaction by the Senate. There’s a presidential campaign that is highly unusual, the outcome of which will undoubtedly affect the membership of the court.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-13/decision-time-arrives-for-controversy-shy-u-s-supreme-court
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